Trying To Move On
by charger21
Summary: X23 tries to adjust to life at the mansion, but do the ghosts of her pasts still haunt her?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Xmen Evolution

My first shot at an X23 fanfic so reviews and any form of constructive criticism would be great!

(X)

_Everything seemed so blurry. She couldn't even seem to remember the faces. They were just another file shoved into her hands, just another target to be eliminated. And so she did what she was trained to do, what she was created to do. Most of them didn't even know what hit them till it was already done. But there were those few that she was ordered to send a message to. To make them beg for the end. She still remembers the sounds of their screams, still sees that flashes of red in her blurry memory and the blood stained adamantium claws protruding from her hands. There's another scream. But there's no one else in the room. Only another terminated target and a bone chilling scream._

**2:00 AM: Xavier's school for gifted youngsters.**

At that moment Laura Kinney, previously HYDRA created assassin known as X-23, jumps awake to the sound of her own terrorized scream. Hacking and slashing at everything around her until the door slams open and Wolverine, the man she was cloned from, rushes to her and holds her in an iron grip until she finally calms down.

"It's ok kid I'm here for you" he says as he tries to comfort the small girl in his arms. "What's wrong?"

"They're still there, I can still see them. Will they ever go away" she pleads as the tears pour down her face.

It takes him a moment to take it all in and find the right words before he speaks. Even though he's been here at the institute for several years, he's still not used to this kind of stuff.

"I don't know kid, I'm over a hundred years old but they still come back to haunt me too." He's the only one that will ever truly understand what she's been through. And not knowing what to say to her is an injury that will never heal as easy as anything he's ever sustained.

"I just want it to stop, I wish I'd never had to do any of it, I wish I'd never been created" Laura struggles to say in between sobs. "I just want it to stop. I hate them, I hate they did to me, I hate what they made me do, and I hate what they've made me become!" Her body's still shaking from the night terrors as she desperately tries to get a hold of herself and calm down

"No one should ever have to go through what you and me went through kid but I promise you me and Chuck will do everything we can to get you through it."

"I just don't understand why they're still there. I destroyed them. Madam HYDRA, her facilities, Weapon X, all of that is gone but it's like they still have this control over me."

"I can't tell you it will ever go away kid. But here, in this place, it gets better. And we're all here for you."

"They don't understand." Thinking of all the other mutants at the Institute, Laura's words start to sound less like a scared child and more like that of the cold hearted assassin she used to be, angry at the world for the hell its put her through.

"Just give em a chance kid. Who knows they might surprise you. Hell they still manage to surprise me every day. But I'll deny that if it ever leaves this room."

"hmph". Laura's been here for a month and yet she has yet to understand this place and the mutants that call it home. But she is starting to notice that more time has passed since her last nightmare. Maybe that's a sign that she's getting better she hopes as she slowly starts to calm down.

"… I guess" she manages to mumble under her breath.

"Come on. It's time that you get some rest. You got your first team danger room session tomorrow morning."

"I've countless exercises with an even greater lack of sleep." She thinks back to all the grueling training she received at HYDRA and is not nervous in the least about tomorrow's danger room session.

"I know that kid, but humor me a little. Besides I need you to watch over your teammates and not just yourself tomorrow". Wolverine knows she can handle anything the Danger Room can through at her. But Professor Xavier mentioned that he wanted her to try and interact and work with the other students and maybe that will help her road to recovery.

"I won't fail" she states. She's grown accustom to what failure meant. Failure meant pain, failure meant death. Failure was not an option. At least that's what HYDRA had been teaching her all these years.

"Good" Wolverine says as he makes his way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Laura" And with that he gently closes the door. Letting his clone get a few more hours sleep before tomorrow.

Laura slowly makes her way into bed and as she lays there wrapped in her soft covers wonders what this place has in store for her.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Disclaimer: Don't own any of Xmen Evolution

**A/N**: ok so let me know what you guys think of this next chapter. And also big thanks for the reviews

**empressofthedead**- thanks for the review, I hope you continue to like the story!

**Ladylovey**-again thank you so much for your review. I hope I'm going in the right direction with Laura

**8 PM: Briefing room**

Thankful for the distraction from last night's events, Laura took at seat in the corner for the briefing of today's Danger Room training session. Even though she was had more combat experience the older staff, with the exception of her progenitor, she was still assigned to the new mutants since she was new to the institute. She scowled when she looked over at the new mutants unofficial leader Bobby, goofing off with Sam and Jubilee. Everyone else was somewhat more focused but still didn't have their mind on the task at hand. '_They wouldn't last a minute in real combat'_ thought Laura.

"Ok listen up everyone" Scott called as he tried to get everyone's attention for the briefing. "Today's plan is simple. Defend the flag for as long as possible from anything and everything that might show up. The goal is 10 minutes."

"Piece of cake!" Shouted Tabitha from her relaxed position in the back of the room with Amara. Scott could only shake his head and continue "Now me, Jean and Wolverine will be up in the control room just in case. Well that's about it, good luck guys."

"Don't worry I got your back" Berserker said as they walked into the middle of the Danger Room simulation to plant the flag.

"I don't need your help, you're the ones that are going to need my help before this is over" Laura announced coldly. She knew that this they should have moved on to higher ground and that this defense exercise was going to be a total disaster.

"Program to commence in 5…4…3…2…1!" Then the signal for the start of the exercise went off and before they knew it training robots started coming from all directions and flying gun turrets started revolving around their position.

"Alright bring it on" Iceman challenged as he fortified their position with ice walls on all sides.

(X)

It only took a few minutes before they lost most of their teammates. Jamie was the first one to go taking a laser the shoulder and Jubilee and Roberto where covering the western side of the fort when they went down from the onslaught of attackers. Laura was defending the northern wall when she looked back and saw Magma and Boom-Boom go down. She cursed under hear breath as she realized that now she'd have to fight the enemy from two sides now but she still relished the fight.

It was in that moment that a lucky laser blast hit Cannonball when he was flying through the air. It didn't hurt him in his current form but it did make him change course dramatically and crash into the eastern wall of the fort. During that time shards of got launched in all directions cutting several of the young mutants. Laura covered her eyes but when she looked down she saw the blood on her adamantium claws.

From that moment on everything else seemed like a blur as the she immediately went berserk. She howled and attacked everything in a fury, not caring it if it was friend or foe. It wasn't until Wolverine got a hold of her and the Professor calmed her down before she was able to see what her actions had caused. A large portion of the robots where down but she didn't know if it was because of her or the fact that the exercise had been deactivated. But then she noticed that Rahne and Berserker were down, bleeding, and not moving. Laura's eyes widened as she realized what she'd done. She'd injured her teammates, maybe even killed them, failed her mission and let everyone down. More innocent blood was on her hands and she couldn't take it. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and pushed off Wolverine and ran out the danger room as fast as she could.

(X)

Laura could barely hold back her tears as she burst into her room and collapsed at the foot of her bed.

"Why?" was the only question she could ask herself. "Why did I have to lose control? Why did I have to hurt those students? Why am I such a monster?"

Her anguish soon turned into uncontrollable rage as she started to wildly attack and destroy everything within reach. It wasn't long before broken furniture littered the floor and the walls were covered in claw marks.

Consumed by her grief and rage, Laura eventually ceased her outburst and curled up in the middle of her destroyed room crying and waiting for sleep to take her away from her misery.

**A/N**: And that's another chapter. Let me know what you guys thought of the Danger room scene. I feel as if writing a battle takes skill so any advice would be appreciated. But yeah any reviews and criticism would be greatly appreciated and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible!


	3. Chapter 3

**Following morning, Laura's Room**

Disclaimer: Don't own Xmen Evolution

A/N: And here's the next chapter for you guys. I should warn you this is a fairly short story, there's probably this and one more chapter (I think). Probably depends on the feedback I get and if I can come up with any more ideas for the story. So if you guys can think of anything please let me know and as always reviews and criticism are always welcome!

**empressofthedead**- thanks I was a little nervous about that scene! And I wish I could give you some sort of well thought of answer as to why she didn't speak up but to be honest I have nothing! I guess when I was writing it I was just going and didn't even think about it when I went back and read it. But thank's for that question and any more ideas would be great

**Dark Lord of the X-Men**- YES! I am also a huge X23 fan and I wish they would have given her more stuff in the show. And thank you so much for the feedback!

Laura could smell him before he even got to the door. She knew that smell all too well. A combination of beer, cigars and a scent similar to hers, of course considering that they had the same DNA it made sense. Her 'father' was no doubt coming to check on her. She could also tell that he wasn't alone. She could sense by the hint of perfume that Jean Grey was with her progenitor.

"Go away!" She yelled, not even giving him the chance to knock

Logan knew she wasn't exactly going to welcome them warmly into the room so he just went ahead and entered the trashed room. "Kid, we need to talk"

"I said go away!"

"Laura there's something that we need to tell you about last night's exercise." Jean Grey said as she stepped forward to try and talk to the ex-assassin.

"I already know. I failed, I attacked my teammates, I lost control and you're going to kick me out!"

"No, that's not true! You saved Rahne and Ray. They were being overrun and when Sam crashed into the wall the ice shards cut them up. That's what made you lose control and what allowed you to save them."

"What?" It didn't make sense to Laura. Every time she had an episode like that before coming to the institute everyone else in the room ends up dead. That's what HYDRA wanted from her, to kill anything and everything in her path.

"Let me show you." Jean slowly approached the small girl raising her hand to connect with her telepathically.

Logan knew this was the only way they'd be able to get through to her and seeing her start to back away from Jean he figured he'd get in there too. "It's ok kid, let Red here show you what happened. I promise you we wouldn't make this up."

Laura was still hesitant. The last thing she wanted to do was relive this terrible thing that she's done. But after a supportive smile from Logan and Jean she reluctantly agrees and lets the telepath show what truly happened.

(X)

"But I don't understand". After seeing what really happened in the danger room Laura was still pretty confused. "What happened?"

"Chuck seems to think that you were able to contain your 'berserker' instinct and focus it on a specific enemy rather than anything and everything in the rom. It was a problem I had in my early days too. But it looks like you were able to figure it out a lot sooner than I did."

"And the others?" Laura could only hope they weren't too badly injured.

"They're in the medical bay. They'll be fine in no time. Maybe you should go down and see them" Jean recommended. "I know they want to thank you for watching out for them."

"But what if it happens again?" The young girl couldn't bear to think of how it could turn out next time.

"We're gonna make sure that it doesn't." A small smile appeared on Logan's face. "You, me, Jean and Scott will be training everyday in the danger room to make sure you get this under control before we send you out with the team again.

"We're here for you Laura, all of us" Jean said with an encouraging smile on her face. "We're a team, and we look out for each other. So what do you say?"

It took Laura a minute to respond. How? How can they fix something that's been haunting her for her entire life? This was the only thing she's ever known. Then she thinks back to the way she was before she came to the institute and how much better she's gotten since she arrived a month ago.

"Ok… I'll do it." She was still scared even as the words left her mouth. But at the same time, determined to face the last bit of her dark past and finally rid herself of it.

A/N: Well there you have it. Again let me know what you guys think. I have ideas for a new story that might be more of the original team after the conclusion of this one. But the way I'm writing it I think I'll be able to leave it kind of open to come back to if I miss my X23 story.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Xmen Evolution

**A/N: **Hey guys sorry it took me so long to update. After going back and rereading this I really wanted to add a chapter of Laura's individual training sessions and I was having trouble figuring out how to do Jean's. I hope it came out all right. Also I got started on a new story. Its called Race for Salvation, if you liked the danger room chapter from this story I think you'd really like it since it's more of an action/adventure fic. However I did not include X23 but maybe she'll make an appearance later ;) But anyways I hope you guys like this chapter let me know what you think and thanks again to everyone who follows and reviews!

**empressofthedead**: Yeah I've read a few fanfics where she does all that, I'd like to incorporate some of that but I wanted to wait till she had everything under control before leaving the mansion. But it's definitely something to think about, I'm still trying to figure out my next storyline and will keep that in mind, let me know if there's anything else you might be interested in. And of course thanks again for the review.

(X)

Her muscles were screaming, her lungs were gasping for air and she was drenched in sweat. Even with her advanced healing factor it's a miracle she didn't pass out. Laura sat on her hands and knees taking in everything around her in the danger room.

She almost allowed herself a smile… until she saw two of the training robots that were supposed to represent allies shredded to pieces. At the sight of these two 'friendly's' her hearts sank and she buried her face in her hands to hide her shame.

She'd been training this way with Cyclops and Wolverine for weeks. And while she was getting better at controlling her rage it was sessions like this just like this that reminded her of the training accident with Berserker and Rahne.

She heard the elevator door open and knew it was Cyclops, the Xmen field leader, and her progenitor coming down from the control room to debrief her. It was the young voice of the team leader that spoke up first. "Hey Laura what's wrong? You did so good today. Only two mistakes, you've come a long way and are really gaining a sense of control. There's no need to get upset this is a good thing."

All she could do was sit there in silence. She had failed, again.

"Slim's right kid. Don't beat yourself up, you're doing real well

"IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" She screamed as she slammed her fist on the simulation floor. "I can't fail. Not again!"

She flinched as Scott put his hand on her shoulder. "Trust me Laura; I know what it's like to not have any control. I was terrified every day for the longest time that I would hurt others around me. But ever since I've come here I've been able to get control and not be afraid all the time. It'll take time, that much I can guarantee you. But I promise you we'll help you every step of the way."

Laura looked up at the kind, young face that was right in front of her and she knew he was telling the truth. She looked to Logan and he gave her an encouraging nod. She was cared and still hesitant but just as determined as before. And with a small smile that few at the institute have seen she slowly rose to look at her teachers and simply said… "So, same time tomorrow?"

(X)

_She could recognize her surroundings. She remembers every place that HYDRA had sent her; a hotel suite in Berlin, a military base in North Korea, an apartment in New York and a research facility in Moscow. She could always recall everything up to getting to the door before everything became blurry with nothing but terrified screams and flashes of red before she came to her senses standing over the body of her target. But for some reason, this time was different. She could see herself turning the handle of the door or dropping down from the balcony or air duct into the room. She could feel the cool night air blowing from an open window or hear the hum of the ventilation system as she advanced to her prey. But none of this mattered, she had a job to do, a target to eliminate._

_She still couldn't shake the feeling though that this time was different. Every time she approached her target, ready to deliver that killing strike something happened, something changed, they changed. They'd become one of the Xmen; the Professor, Jean, Iceman, Rahne, even her progenitor Wolverine. They all transformed right as she was about to pounce. A part of her didn't want to believe it and thought it was just some kind of trick. "No, these people are the enemy" she'd tell herself. But then after seeing the faces of her teammates looking back at her, not with the frightened look she'd come to expect from her targets, but with a kind understanding and supportive smile she knew that they weren't her targets and she didn't want to hurt them. And as she retracted her adamantium claws the young assassin knew she had a choice, her choice._

Laura opened her eyes to find herself in her room with Jean Grey sitting across from her. "Laura that was brilliant, great job" she exclaimed with a big grin on her face.

The two had been working like this for a few weeks in addition to her training sessions with Cyclops and Wolverine. "Wait I… I don't understand, what happened?"

"Can't you see Laura? Before everything was blurry and even when we did get it all clear all you saw were your previous targets and you still attacked. But this time you saw your team members and you didn't attack them or anything, you had complete control."

It took a moment the young girl to realize what Jean was saying. Until now this was all she had ever known, she did what HYDRA told her no questions asked. But before she knew it she was embracing the telepath, overcome with emotion of finally being able to have control and not be afraid of her past.

"How can I ever thank you?"

"Hey, we're a family here and family looks out for each other" the red head replied as she hugged the young girl back."So you think you're ready to get back into the danger room with the rest of the team? It's got to be getting old just being there with Scott and Logan."

Laura hesitated, she was glad her sessions with Jean were paying off but she still wasn't a hundred percent sure if she was ready or not. "I… I don't know yet"

"Hey don't worry about it; we'll keep working till you're sure. But for now I think it's time for you to get some rest, it's been a long day for you." And after one last encouraging hug Jean got up and moved to the door.

"Jean…" Laura's voice was almost a whisper and as her tutor turned to face her "Thanks"

The telepath gave her a quick smile in acknowledgment and closed the door as she made her way to her own room. Then Laura laid her head down on her soft pillow and allowed herself a smile knowing that there wouldn't be any more nightmares to haunt her dreams tonight.

**A/N**: Hope you guys liked the latest chapter again let me know what you guys think, Reviews and Constructive criticism will always be appreciated. And don't forget to check out my Race for Salvation fic, that is if you want, I'd really like to get some feedback on that one. And I'll try and post the next chapter for this story as soon as possible! Thanks again for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Disclaimer: I don't own Xmen Evolution

**A/N**: Finally got this chapter up, it was originally supposed to be real short and sweet but then wanted to add a little bit more action so I'm throwing in another danger room session for you guys ;) I hope you guys like it. Again reviews, criticism and ideas are greatly appreciated!

**empressofthedead**: Thanks I was really glad I decided to add that last chapter in there. I'm hoping to put Laura in more social setting soon so hopefully that'll add some humor to the story

**Dark Lord of the X-Men**: Thanks again for the ideas and reviews, keep em coming they're really great!

The nerves were starting to kick in as Laura just finished putting her uniform. It was the same black one that all the new recruits had since she wasn't yet a member of the main team. It worked fine for her though, it didn't have the protection her HYDRA uniform did but it's not like she needed it. Plus she was glad to have something that didn't remind her of her days with HYDRA. She was nervously pacing the locker room in the training facilities constantly rechecking her gloves and belt over and over again looking for something to do. The New Mutants hadn't quite yet shown up since they were with the rest of the team students eating breakfast. Laura always woke up before everyone else with the exception of Logan so she'd already eaten and was glad for it. She was still uncomfortable spending time with the rest of the team since the accident. For the past few weeks her days consisted of training with Cyclops and Wolverine, training with Jean and then spending the rest of her time either in her room or walking the grounds of the institute.

Her thinking was soon interrupted by the sounds of chatter in the distance. She figured it was the new mutants slowly making their way to the locker room and confirmed it by checking the clock on the wall that showed 10 minutes till their simulation briefing. She didn't really want to socialize with the other female members of the team so she figured she'd go ahead and make her way to the briefing room.

Laura took a seat in the back corner and after a few minutes everyone else started to show up. Sunspot, Amara, Multiple and Boom-Boom were the first to arrive. They were followed by Iceman, Jubilee and Cannonball who took their seats close to the rest of the group and joined in the friendly chatter. After them Rahne, Beserker and Alex Masters, aka Havok, entered. Laura knew about Havoks powers even though she hadn't trained with him yet since he only moved into the institute a few weeks ago while she was still doing her training with her other tutors. She had been analyzing past reports from the team's danger room sessions though and saw that he had previously trained with them and while he didn't have his brother's skill he was still somewhat efficient. Of course that wasn't enough to help the team who was failing 27 percent of their training sessions in the past few weeks. Havok gave her a polite smile as he entered, Beserker acknowledged her with a slight nod of the head and Rahne smiled and waved to Laura. Alex immediately went towards the group and Laura shifted uncomfortable as Rahne and Beserker took their seats right next to her. They could tell she didn't want to be bothered so after saying Hi they started talking about a movie the two had gone to see last night.

After a couple more minutes of waiting the instructors entered. Jean took the lead on this session and as she went to the holographic projector they used for briefing while Cyclops and Wolverine stood to the side and observed. "Alright everyone listen up, for today's training exercise you're going to be doing the canyon run," Jean announced as a 3D projection showed up in front of the class. This was immediately greeted with protesting groans from the new mutants. Usually the voice of the group, Iceman was the first to speak.

"Again? What the heck we ran that one like 3 weeks ago."

"And you failed last time remember?" asked Jean

"Uh, I made it all the way across" Boom-Boom shouted over the rest of the complains with Sunspot agreeing with her "yeah me too, so what gives?"

"Shut it!" Wolverine shouted over the many voices that immediately went silent.

"Thank you Logan" Jean voiced before continuing with the briefing. "Yes some of you did make it all the way through the exercise you all have to get to the finish marker or else it's still classified as a failure. We don't leave people behind. Now as I'm sure you all remember the objective is to get from one end to the other. Stay alert and watch for obstacles and you're not allowed to go over the canyon walls and remember teamwork is key. You guys have anything else to add?" She asked as she turned to the two other instructors who shook their heads in response. "Alright then, good luck out there you guys."

The new mutants started to make their way into the danger room. Laura was the last one to leave but just as she was about to pass through the doors to the simulation room she stopped.

It had been 1 week since Laura's last session with Jean. She'd been working privately with Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean every day since the training accident. Sometimes she did physical training in the danger room with Scott and Logan, sometimes simply in her room with Jean, training her mind.

It had all led her up to this moment. She could sense the instructors as they moved to her from across the room.

"What if it happens again?" She asked with in a shaky voice.

"We wouldn't let you in there if we didn't think you were ready kid." Her progenitor answered.

Scott and Jean couldn't help but chime in with encouraging smiles.

"We know you can do this Laura"

"You've come a long way. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Laura simply gave her head a slight nod. There was nothing else left to say. The other staff members gave her the same understanding tilt of the head and stepped into the elevator that would take them to the control room.

She turned to face the steel door that would lead her into the danger room, took a deep breath, and walked through.

(X)

Laura approached the rest of the new mutants, confident in her abilities thanks to her teachers; ready to do whatever she could to make sure they finally passed this training exercise. Just as the others were about to greet her the loud speaker came on signaling the start of the exercise. As their surroundings started to resemble the simulation Bobby immediately scanned the area trying to learn as much as he could. Laura already knew the exactly layout having memorized the holographic diagram as soon as she could and also recognized the simulation from the files of danger room records. She braced herself waiting for the exercise to start.

"Training simulation to start in 5…4…3…2…1 GO!" Immediately the rest of the canyon formed. The students were at one end of the canyon. It was roughly the width of a football field but twice as long with huge walls on the side that seemed to be dotted with caves and tunnels. Laura turned her attention upward and saw gun turrets and flying training robots in the sky and then when she scanned ahead of her there were fortifications manned with ground based robots blocking their path. Before she could even begin to formulate a plan she heard Rahne shout.

"Look out!" A group of simulated troops had suddenly appeared from a cave to the right. Iceman was the first to respond freezing one of them, Beserker sent a shock wave into another one sending him crashing into the canyon wall while Boom-Boom lobbed an energy bomb the size of a softball that took out three more. One of them got a lucky shot of that hit Multiple in the chest that knocked him out immediately. Sunspot responded by powering up and launched himself at the remaining enemies kicking one into the wall and then picking up a second and throwing him into the last two remaining troops. Magma went to check on Multiple but turns out he was ok and the blast only hit one of his duplicates he'd made once the simulation started. Once Sunspot got back to the group and made sure Multiple was ok Iceman went into his plan.

"Alright guys that was a close call, now here's the plan. We stick together just like last time but this time we try and battle our way out instead of making a mad dash. And since we're going slower that means we'll be able to help out whoever gets hit."

"I don't think that's a good idea." All eyes turned towards Laura who almost regretted her decision to object but she figured she'd already spoke so she might as well tell them what she thought. "None of you would be able to last through that long of a battle. I think we need to split up. The defenses are lighter closer to the walls so if we have our ranged attackers slightly behind and to the sides then they can take care of all the aerial forces while the rest of us take on the ground troops. With this plan we're smaller targets and nobody gets in anyone's way."

Most of the students just stood there staring, none of them had ever heard the young girl speak that much in front of everyone and here she was now presenting a plan of attack. Bobby exchanged looks with Sam and Roberto unsure of what to do but after receiving encouraging nods from both Rahne and Berserker he finally agreed. "Alright, good idea Laura"

(X)

Everyone in Laura's group had taken their positions. She was up front with Sunspot and Boom-Boom with Magma, Rahne and Multiple watching their backs for anything that might sneak up from behind or come out of the caves. Off to the side Iceman led his team, which consisted of him, Havok, Beserker, Jubilee and Cannonball. He iced up giving her the signal that his team was ready and Laura took off towards the first fortification. She jumped over the low wall and unleashed her adamantium claws on the robots there. Most of them were armed with clubs or stun batons so they didn't stand a chance as she slashed through them with ease. There was a small cluster to her right but Boom-Boom and Jamie were taking them out before they even got near her with their power bomb/sling shot combination and off to her left Sunspot was practically tearing the robots apart with his bare hands in his powered up state with magma blasting anything he missed. Laser's and shards of ice were flying around above her letting her know that Iceman and his team were providing them with plenty of cover.

They quickly moved on to the next few fortifications, which were a little more heavily armed. She thrust her claws into one bot and sent her boot into the head of another and lunched a third into the air that was immediately smashed to pieces as Cannonball soared right through it but she didn't have time to celebrate as another shot a blast straight into her rib cage. Three more approached her but Sunspot was able to grab hold of one, magma melted the second and the last was swarmed with a squad of Multiples that punched and kicked until it finally went down. The original Jamie approached with a worried look on his face "Tabitha's down i…" but before he could finish he took a stray laser blast right between the shoulder blades sending him face first into the dirt.

She had just finished healing as Sunspot showed up caring the two unconscious mutants after the assault on that group of forts. "You think you could carry them both?" she asked.

"Yes but I won't be able to fight anymore."

"That's fine, lets move."

(X)

Laura's was just about to get to the finish marker when she heard a scream behind her. She turned to see Iceman's team get overrun but a group of bots that swarmed out of a cave they got to close too. Rahne, Sunspot and Magma were already in the safe zone so they couldn't help her but Cannonball had just landed next to her hoping to get into the safe zone. "Hey! Take me back over there to them."

"Are you crazy? We gotta get outta here"

Laura grabbed a hold of the longhaired boy's uniform and snarled into his face. "I'm not leaving them behind. Get me over there now"

Sam took one more look back and hung his head before saying "Alright but grab on tight." As he launched himself towards the group Laura could feel her rage building inside of her "_No, not this time, I won't fail them again"_

Just as they were passing over the pinned down group Laura let go of Cannonball. She landed directly on top of one of the troops her claws plunging straight into where its collarbone would be sending it straight into the ground. She let out a bone-chilling roar and attacked the remaining enemies. She hacked and slashed left and right destroying everything in her path shredding the metal robots like they were paper. She'd see the occasional blast letting her know that some of her teammates were ok but her only focus right now was getting rid of everything trying to hurt her friends. She could feel the sting of laser blasts and the sharp pain of metal piercing her skin but could only see the next enemy in front of her.

It seemed like it was an hour but lasted under a minute. She looked around and saw the pieces of the shredded robots all around her. She was breathing deeply, she was covered in blood from wounds that hadn't quite healed yet and her body was aching from all the laser blasts she'd taken. She turned to face her teammates and see how they'd faired. Iceman was carrying an unconscious Jubilee while Berserker and Cannonball were supporting a limping Havok.

She looked around the simulation and knew that they had just finished off all the enemies so technically the mission was a success. She looked at each one of her teammates and then out of nowhere smiled and simply said, "So are we going or what?"

**A/N**: Hope you guys liked it; let me know what you think and ways to improve. I'm still trying to figure out the direction I want the story to go after all this so any ideas will for sure be welcome. You guys are awesome and again thank you so much for reading!


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